The question that costs a drinkware seller the most orders is not about printing. It is a customer asking how big the glass actually is and getting a vague answer. Glassware sizes are inconsistent across the trade: a shot glass can be 1.5 oz or 2.5 oz, and a pint can be 16 oz, 17 oz or 19.2 oz depending on which country wrote the standard. This guide sets out the real figures, what each size is used for, and which ones are worth stocking. Photo USA ORCA-coated glassware starts at about $1.30 per unit, sold wholesale by the case and shipped from US warehouses.
Short answer: A US standard shot is 1.5 oz, a US pint is 16 oz, and commercial pint glassware runs an ounce oversized for foam. Everything below is stock Photo USA physically holds in Fremont, CA and Shepherdsville, KY.
| Capacity | Category | What it equals | Case | Approx. per unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 oz | Shot glass, ceramic | One US standard shot | 120 | $1.30 |
| 1.5 oz | Shot glass, coloured interior | One US standard shot | 120 | $1.48 |
| 1.5 oz | Shot glass, clear glass | One US standard shot | 144 | $1.69 |
| 1.5 oz | Shot glass, frosted | One US standard shot | 144 | $1.88 |
| 2 oz | Shot glass, clear glass | Generous single or short double | 144 | $1.82 |
| 2.5 oz | Shooter, frosted | Close to a double | 144 | $1.57 |
| 2.5 oz | Shooter, neon | Close to a double | 144 | $1.88 |
| 10 oz | Frosted glass mug | Standard coffee serve | 36 | $2.47 |
| 11.83 oz (350 ml) | Stemless wine glass | About two restaurant pours | 72 | $6.66 |
| 13.19 oz (390 ml) | Stemless wine glass | Two generous pours | 48 | $6.71 |
| 16 oz | Glass beer stein | Exactly one US pint | 24 | $3.76 |
| 17 oz | Pint glass | One US pint plus foam headroom | 36 | $3.64 |
| 22 oz | Ceramic beer stein | Between a US and an imperial pint | 18 | $8.42 |
Short answer: A US standard shot is 1.5 ounces. That is what a jigger pours and what American cocktail recipes are written to, so a customer asking for a shot glass without qualifying it means 1.5 oz.
The other sizes on the shelf are not shot glasses in the strict sense, and describing them accurately avoids a return. A 2 oz glass is a generous single or a short double, which is why bars serving measured doubles reach for it and souvenir retailers like it: a slightly larger glass reads as better value on a shelf. A 2.5 oz glass is closer to a double, and the extra volume is what makes a layered shooter possible at all. Sell those as shooters, not as shot glasses.
If you ship internationally, be aware that a UK single is 25 ml, about 0.85 oz, and a large measure is 35 ml, about 1.18 oz. A 1.5 oz glass is noticeably larger than a British customer expects.
About $1.30 per unit and the cheapest entry point into glassware. The white ceramic body carries the brightest, most saturated print of anything in the category, and the print field is the largest of any shot glass in the range at 6.61 by 3.16 inches, against 5.73 by 2.31 on the clear glass version. That extra area is what lets a wraparound design or a full logo lockup fit without shrinking it to the point of illegibility. Shot glasses also sell in sets of four or six rather than singles, so a case of 120 turns faster than the count suggests.
About $1.82 per unit. Clear glass reads as a real bar glass with artwork on it rather than as a printed souvenir, which is the reason breweries, distilleries and taprooms specify it by name. The 2 oz capacity is the generous single most bars actually pour, and souvenir retail likes it because the larger glass justifies a higher shelf price than a 1.5 oz for the same printing work.
About $1.57 per unit, and the lowest cost of the frosted glassware. Frosted softens the print and adds perceived value with no extra design work, which is the commercial argument for carrying it alongside plain clear: the same monogram retails higher on a frosted glass. At 2.5 oz this is a shooter rather than a shot glass, and it is the size party, nightlife and bachelorette work asks for. Neon purple and blue bodies are stocked at the same capacity at about $1.88.
Adding glassware before Q4? Order a single case, press a test piece and see how it photographs before you scale. No minimum case count, most orders ship within 24 hours, and new customers save 10% with code WELCOMEPHOTOUSA. Contact Us Directly.
Short answer: A US pint is 16 ounces. An imperial pint, used in the UK and Ireland, is 19.2 ounces. A pint is not one number, and commercial glassware is sized an ounce or so above the serve so the foam has somewhere to sit.
That is why the Photo USA pint glass is 17 oz rather than 16. A bar pouring a measured 16 oz serve into a glass that holds exactly 16 oz spills it before it reaches the table. Almost all commercial pint glassware is oversized for this reason, and a customer comparing your 17 oz listing against a competitor's 16 oz is not looking at a bigger glass, they are looking at a glass sized for actual service.
The 16 oz glass beer stein is the exception, at exactly one US pint with no headroom. That makes it better suited to retail and gifting than to bar service, where a full pour would reach the rim.
The other thing that distinguishes a sublimated pint glass is the white imprint patch. Dye sublimation is translucent, so artwork printed straight onto clear glass loses contrast against whatever is behind it and photographs in particular go flat. The patch gives the ink an opaque backing, which is how a pint glass ends up carrying a photograph or a full colour logo at all.
About $3.64 per unit. The white sublimation patch is the whole argument for this product: it lets you put a photograph or a full colour logo on a pint glass, which a competitor printing directly onto clear glass cannot match at any price. Breweries, sports bars, reunions and corporate merchandise all buy here, and the case of 36 is small enough to test a design without committing to a season of stock.
Short answer: There is no single answer, which is worth knowing before you promise a customer a traditional German stein. The 16 oz glass stein holds a US pint. The 22 oz ceramic stein sits above both a US and an imperial pint. A German festival Mass is a full litre, about 33.8 oz, larger than anything sold as a stein in the US market.
The two materials sell to different customers. The 16 oz glass stein at about $3.76 per unit is frosted outside with a clear interior, so the beer colour shows through, which is exactly what a taproom selling a specific pour wants on its glassware. The 22 oz ceramic stein at about $8.42 gives the traditional white stoneware look, holds more, and is the practical size for retail and gifting rather than bar service. A gold trim version of the 22 oz is also stocked at about $8.36.
Set the expectation early on capacity. If a customer has been to Oktoberfest in Munich and is picturing a litre Mass, neither of these will match the memory, and it is far better to say so before the order than after.
Short answer: A standard restaurant pour is 5 to 6 ounces. The 350 ml glass holds 11.83 oz, about two pours with room to swirl. The 390 ml holds 13.19 oz and suits a more generous pour.
Tasting rooms choose the 350 ml because the headroom above two pours is what lets a taster actually work the glass. Retail and gift buyers usually prefer the 390 ml, because the extra capacity makes the glass feel more substantial in the hand, and weight in the hand is most of what a gift buyer is judging.
Stemless is the practical choice for anything that leaves a table. It survives a picnic basket, a crowded event and a packed shipping box in a way a stem does not, and the breakage rate in normal handling is far lower. For an online seller shipping finished pieces, that difference shows up directly in your replacement rate.
About $6.66 per unit and the highest case count in the glassware range at 72. Frosted throughout, which raises perceived value without extra design work, and 11.83 oz is the tasting room capacity. For a shop that already sells beer glassware, this is the piece that opens a completely different buyer, from wineries and tasting rooms through to bridal parties and bachelorette work, without changing anything about your press setup.
About $6.71 per unit. The same frosted finish one size up at 13.19 oz, which is the size gift and retail buyers reach for because it feels heavier and more generous. Worth carrying alongside the 350 ml rather than instead of it, since the two sell to different questions: one is about tasting, the other is about giving.
About $2.47 per unit. A handled frosted glass mug sits between the ceramic mug range and the barware, and it sells to cafes, roasters and anyone who wants coffee merchandise that does not look like every other printed ceramic mug. At 10 oz it is a standard coffee serve, and the frosted body does the same thing it does on wine glass, which is make a simple one colour design look considered.
Short answer: Ceramic prints brightest and has the largest imprint area. Clear glass reads as real bar glass, which is what breweries want. Frosted softens the print and lifts the retail price. Size is only half the decision; the body is what changes the print.
Ceramic gives the brightest, most saturated print, because the coating sits on a white body rather than on something the light passes through. Souvenir and personalised gift work goes here, and so does anything with a photograph in it. The 1.5 oz ceramic shot glass also carries the largest print field of any shot glass in the range at 6.61 by 3.16 inches, against 5.73 by 2.31 on the glass version.
Clear glass reads as a real bar glass with artwork on it, rather than as a printed souvenir. Breweries, distilleries and taprooms specify it for exactly that reason: their glassware has to look like it belongs behind their own bar. Colours come out slightly softer than on ceramic, which is a trade most of those buyers accept knowingly.
Frosted softens the print further and adds perceived value without any extra design work. A single monogram on a frosted glass retails above the same monogram on clear, which is the whole commercial argument for carrying it alongside the plain version rather than instead of it.
These are chosen rather than browsed, and that changes how you stock them. Red covers Christmas, Valentine's Day and July 4th. Pink is specified by name for October awareness campaigns and bridal work. Yellow suits summer and school palettes. Neon purple and blue go to Greek life, awareness months and nightlife venues. A buyer who has decided on pink will not accept red, so holding the colour is what wins the order rather than being able to get it in three weeks.
Short answer: A gold rim frames the glass and sets a formal tone, which suits wedding and anniversary work. For team, brewery and novelty designs it competes with the artwork, which is why rimless versions are stocked separately. Metallic trim must never go in a microwave.
It is a decision made before the file is built rather than a finishing option, so it belongs in the conversation at the quoting stage. A monogram, a wedding date or an anniversary number sits inside a gold rim naturally. A brewery logo or a sports team mark fights it, and the finished glass looks busy. Carrying both versions of the same glass means you never have to talk a customer out of the one they asked for.
Short answer: Glass needs a slower ramp to temperature and a gentle cool down in still air. Most breakage happens coming out of the press, not in it. Budget for a learning curve on the first case.
Do not borrow settings from a mug, because the two materials do not behave the same way in a press. If you are unsure where to start on a specific SKU, contact us and we will point you in the right direction.
Short answer: Start with the 1.5 oz ceramic shot glass, the 17 oz pint glass and the 350 ml stemless wine glass. Add a beer stein once you have a brewery or festival customer, not before.
Steins come later for a reason. They are heavy, the case counts are low at 18 to 24, and the season is short: US Oktoberfest events run from mid September into October, and breweries commit their merchandise in July and August. That is a good account to have and a poor one to guess at, so wait until a customer asks.
Planning glassware for Q4? Order by mid October to have stock pressed and listed before Thanksgiving. Photo USA holds stock in Fremont, CA and Shepherdsville, KY, most orders ship within 24 hours, and our shipping rates run well below published carrier rates. Get in Touch Now.
A US standard shot is 1.5 ounces. That is the measure American cocktail recipes are written to and the size a jigger pours, so when a customer asks for a shot glass without qualifying it, this is what they mean. A 2 oz glass is a generous single or a short double, and a 2.5 oz glass is sold as a shooter rather than a shot glass. For reference outside the US, a UK single is 25 ml, about 0.85 oz.
A US pint is 16 ounces and an imperial pint, used in the UK and Ireland, is 19.2 ounces. Commercial pint glassware is usually made slightly oversized so there is somewhere for the foam to sit, which is why the Photo USA pint glass is 17 oz rather than 16. A glass filled exactly to the brim spills before it reaches the table.
There is no single answer. The Photo USA 16 oz glass stein holds exactly one US pint, and the 22 oz ceramic stein sits above both a US and an imperial pint, which makes it the practical size for retail and gifting. A German festival Mass is a full litre, about 33.8 oz, which is considerably larger than anything sold as a stein in the US market.
A standard restaurant pour is 5 to 6 ounces. The 350 ml stemless glass holds 11.83 oz, which is about two pours with room left to swirl, and the 390 ml holds 13.19 oz, which suits a more generous pour and feels more substantial in the hand. Stemless is the practical choice for anything that leaves a table, because it survives a picnic basket, a crowded event and a packed shipping box in a way a stem does not.
Ceramic gives the brightest, most saturated print because the coating sits on a white body, and it carries the largest print field in the category at 6.61 by 3.16 inches. Clear glass reads as a real bar glass with artwork on it rather than as a printed souvenir, which is why breweries and taprooms specify it. Frosted softens the print and raises perceived value, so the same monogram retails higher on frosted than on clear.
Because dye sublimation is translucent. Printed directly onto clear glass, artwork loses contrast against whatever is behind it, and photographs in particular go flat. The white patch gives the ink an opaque backing, so full colour logos and photographs read as designed. It is the reason a sublimated pint glass can carry a photograph where a directly printed one cannot.
They are ordered by name rather than browsed. Red covers Christmas, Valentine's Day and July 4th. Pink is specified for October awareness campaigns, bridal parties and bachelorette work. Yellow suits summer and school palettes, and neon purple and blue go to Greek life, awareness months and nightlife venues. Buyers for these rarely accept a substitute colour, so holding stock is what wins the order.
Yes, and it is worth budgeting for a learning curve on the first case. Glass needs a slower ramp to temperature and a gentle cool down in still air. Most breakage happens on the way out of the press rather than in it, when a hot piece is set onto a cold metal bench. Corners and thin sections are the stress points, and small items sit at slightly different heights on a platen, so press fewer per cycle or use a pressing pillow.
The 1.5 oz ceramic shot glass, the 17 oz pint glass and the 350 ml stemless wine glass. The shot glass is the standard size, the brightest print and the cheapest entry point, and it sells in sets of four or six rather than singles. The pint glass carries full colour work on its white patch. The stemless wine glass reaches a different buyer from the beer side without changing your press setup.
Mid October for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and July or August if you want brewery and Oktoberfest work, because breweries commit their merchandise months ahead and US Oktoberfest events run from mid September into October. Photo USA ships from Fremont, CA and Shepherdsville, KY, which makes a mid season restock possible when a listing takes off.
Browse the full drinkware range, compare with our barware collection and ceramic mugs, or contact us with a SKU and we will tell you what we are holding.
